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White police officer fatally shoots black woman in her own home on a welfare check
Fort Worth Police body cam footage of a welfare check during which an officer shot and killed the resident of the home. (Image source: WFAA-TV video screenshot)

White police officer fatally shoots black woman in her own home on a welfare check

There was no evidence of criminal activity

A black woman in Fort Worth, Texas, was shot and killed in her own home Saturday morning by a police officer who was responding to a welfare call from a neighbor, CNN reported.

The victim was 28-year-old Atatiana Koquice Jefferson. Police came to her home after her neighbor, James Smith, called the non-emergency line around 2 a.m. because he saw that Jefferson's front door was open. He was concerned for her safety, and now said he feels regret for having called police.

"I'm shaken. I'm mad. I'm upset. And I feel it's partly my fault," Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "If I had never dialed the police department, she'd still be alive."

Officers arrived at Jefferson's home just before 2:30 a.m. They found the front door open and some lights on, but didn't immediately see anyone.

As they circled the residence, one officer saw someone in a window. Body cam video shows him pointing his gun through the window, yelling for the person to show their hands, then firing seconds later. He is not heard identifying himself as a police officer on the video, and Jefferson would have had no reason to expect police to come to her home at that time.

The officer fired one shot, which struck Jefferson. Police reportedly administered medical assistance to Jefferson inside the house, but she died at the scene. She lived at the home with her 8-year-old nephew.

The Fort Worth Police Department released an edited body camera video, but has declined to release any further information such as unedited footage and a recording of the call that officers were responding to.

Woman shot, killed by Fort Worth police in her homeyoutu.be

The officer who killed Jefferson has not been identified, but is reportedly a white male officer who joined the force in 2018. He has been placed on administrative leave.

The killing comes less than two weeks after Amber Guyger, a former Dallas police officer, was convicted of murder for shooting and killing 26-year-old Botham Jean in his home when she allegedly mistook his apartment for hers.

(H/T The Hill)

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